


Pro Hero Kirby

by Otaku553



Category: Kirby (Video Games), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, But that's sort of a spoiler, Crossover, Gen, Kirby in UA, Post-Kirby Star Allies, Pro Hero Meta Knight, Reincarnation, Rewrite, oh well
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:22:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24559120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Otaku553/pseuds/Otaku553
Summary: Kirby's always dreamed of the star-shaped planet, with two ethereal rings circling it. He's dreamed of matters most dark, godlike world destroyers, wish-granting clockwork stars.He doesn't know what to make of it... but it doesn't matter. Here and now, he's Hoshino Kirby, aspiring hero sidekick of Meta Knight, and apparently now also new transfer student to UA's class 2-A.[Kirby is an intern for Pro Hero Meta Knight, without a Hero License. He needs to get one before the Hero Association changes its mind and arrests Kirby for vigilantism.]
Relationships: Amajiki Tamaki & Hadou Nejire & Haya Yuuyu & Kirby & Toogata Mirio, Amajiki Tamaki & Hadou Nejire & Toogata Mirio, Hadou Nejire & Haya Yuuyu, Kirby & Meta Knight
Comments: 11
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So! This is a rewrite. I have another story, Pro Hero: Star Warrior Kirby, on my page, but upon rereading I noticed a lot of things I wanted to change. I hope people enjoy this!

_Once upon a time, a ship crashed on a planet._

_Planet Popstar, the World of Miracles. Dreamland, the Land of Peace._

_The ship held naught but a baby, a little pink bundle of joy born of the Void and blessed with immeasurable power._

_But with great power came great responsibility, even in the hands of the fledgeling Star Warrior._

_Threats flocked to the planet. The light attracted the dark, and the dark preyed on its lazy defense._

_Yet, the baby protected them all. The fledgeling warrior grew strong, grew up into a Star Warrior, with the aid of his many friends._

_He loved them. He loved his home. He would protect them forever._

_Until he couldn't._

_Until an enemy finally overpowered him._

_Until his endless reserves of strength finally depleted._

_Kirby couldn't have done it forever._

_But time repeated itself, and on a distant planet, in a faraway town, in another universe,_

_The Warrior rose again._

* * *

Kirby took a nice long deep breath. The breeze tousled his hair lightly and swayed the branches of the tree above him. Specks of light danced on the ground, leaves rustling quietly in accompaniment with the soft chirps of birds.

All was calm. All was serene. From his relaxed position, lying on the grassy hill overlooking the land, he stared up, up at the wispy spiral clouds. The fresh scent of the spring breeze carried with it the promise of peace and quiet. Kirby liked it.

Then, creeping in like an unforetold storm, the sky darkened. Kirby's eyes widened as a large red eyeball peeked out from the mass of darkness, rolling around as if stretching after a nap, then finally, landing on him. The mass of black spread far and wide, lowering, settling into and _corrupting_ the land, the quiet natural beauty of it darkening.

" _Kirby!_ " shouted a few voices in tandem, ever familiar, but ever distant.

But all he could do was stare up at the eyeball, the black cloud, descending on - and engulfing his home—

Kirby gasped, as he sat up on his bed.

The birds were chirping, the sounds of the nearby city awakening with the small _vrooms_ of cars rolling past reaching his ears.

Kirby arched his spine and raised his arms in a satisfying stretch, before letting them flop back down the the soft downy bed. His eyelids still drooping, he raised one hand to rub the fog away from his eyes, and hopefully wake up more fully.

It was another one of those dreams that Kirby couldn't make heads or tails of. So realistic. He could feel the soft bed of grass that padded his back but tickled his skin all the same, the small bits of sun peeking from behind the tree that warmed his skin. The horror of seeing that ominous red eyeball. He didn't know what they meant.

But then again, Kirby was never one for thinking too hard about things.

With a single smooth motion, he hopped out of his bed and landed on light feet. His eyes were wide open now, revealing deep sky blue eyes that reflected the atmosphere of a sunny day and shone with the light of a thousand galaxies in the indigo night sky.

A joyous smile perched on his lips, he made a short futile effort to pat down his puffy pink hair, before bouncing to the kitchen. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, and not something Kirby intended to miss. Though, mind you, he wouldn't miss any meal, if he could. Food was the best.

"Ah, Kirby," Meta Knight glanced towards the child, who took a seat. "You're awake."

Kirby smiled and nodded, bobbing his head up and down. "Yep! Slept like a log, though there was another odd dream."

"Alright. Make sure you write it down in your dream log," Meta replied before turning back to the counter, nearly finished preparing breakfast. Fresh rice was standard fare, with an egg or two mixed in occasionally, and fruits afterwards. If you asked Kirby, he'd much rather eat more, maybe a cake slice or two, but Meta's word was law in this household and that meant eating a balanced meal for breakfast.

Kirby gladly dug into his breakfast. How much detail should he write about the dream? He didn't remember that much of it anymore, but the black cloud and the red eyeball were certainly memorable. In any case, as long as he wrote down enough for Meta to get a general idea, Meta wouldn't nag, and that was Kirby's goal.

The dream log was really just a glorified dream diary, in Kirby's opinion. He had the vague sense that most of his dreams were connected somehow, but he didn't think it really warranted actually tracking them like Meta suggested. He didn't really see how the red eyeball might be connected to a regal queen-like wasp, or a four-headed dragon.

_A red eyeball came down from the sky, surrounded by a black cloud. The cloud didn't really seem tangible, but it sank into the ground like water would be absorbed by paper, and made things dark. People shouted my name, but before I could respond or see them I woke up,_ Kirby later wrote.

Meta Knight would also later take the opportunity to teach Kirby writing, and nitpick on Kirby saying that it " _made things dark_." "What things? Be more specific," he chided, and Kirby puffed his cheeks. What did he mean "what things?" Everything got darker. And besides, it was supposed to be a dream log, not an essay.

Meta was just like that. Though, it was pretty warranted considering Meta was Kirby's teacher. Kirby had been homeschooled for a long time; in fact, he hadn't really ever gone to school.

It was amazing, in retrospect, how skilled the knight was, to be able to raise Kirby and take care of his heroic duties at the same time. Kirby knew it couldn't be easy, but he supposed that was why he joined Meta for his hero duties sometimes.

Never mind that he didn't have a license. Who needed a license to help people? As long as he never directly interfered too much, Meta Knight said it was fine, and Meta Knight was right. Number three hero, Galactic Warrior: Meta Knight had quite a lot of power to his name, and Kirby knew it was probably because of him that he never really got into trouble.

Kirby did, after all, see many vigilante arrests on the nightly news, and Meta was always next to him, warning him that that would be him if he slipped up.

Luckily, Meta was good at "exploiting loopholes," as he'd phrased it. Meta Knight had the authority to claim that Kirby was his intern, and since hero students that hadn't actually gotten their licenses yet were allowed to intern, Kirby was allowed to intern without a license or provisional license.

Never mind that the rule was technically made with Hero School students in mind, because though Kirby was homeschooled, his teacher was the Number Three Hero. That had to count as hero schooling, right?

There were rules, though. First, Kirby couldn't show his face.

Kirby wasn't sure why this was a rule, considering a large number of heroes had costumes that did squat for hiding their civilian identities, but Meta Knight insisted. Something about looking too young and reputational backlash for it, which Kirby thought was dumb. Who cared how old he looked? He was 16, and that meant he was technically allowed to intern. If he looked 12, then it was the fault of "genetics," as Meta Knight claimed. That shouldn't stop him from going out and helping people.

Second, Kirby had to follow Meta Knight's every order in the field.

This wasn't difficult. Somehow, Kirby was quite used to this, and Meta Knight's judgement was something he trusted more than his own. Meta Knight was strong, and a case was arguable for Kirby to be stronger in raw strength, perhaps, but not in technique.

Above all, Meta was his mentor, and he was following the hero on patrol to learn. He wanted to help people, but if it was going to get him arrested, he'd try his very best to avoid it— and that meant deferring to Meta Knight's orders. If Meta Knight didn't let him deal with it, then he couldn't. Now, again, this wasn't an issue. Not only was Meta Knight strong and able to handle himself just fine, other heroes were rather competent, and there was little that Kirby ever needed to do, if he ever did at all.

Lastly, Kirby wasn't allowed to use any hats.

The power to copy abilities for weapons and certain natural elements was probably what society would call a "quirk," though Kirby thought that wasn't quite the right term. Meta had told him once that quirked people had an extra joint in their pinky toes, something that Kirby lacked. So, no, his copy ability wasn't a quirk..

It was more… a power, if that made sense. It wasn't a biological part of him that he could activate, but rather a sort of energy within him that always thrummed lowly beneath his skin.

In any case, when explaining the rules, Meta had had two justifications for this in particular: first, that keeping a trump card was something powerful, and something that Kirby should always do; and second, that if he was ever in hot water for battling a villain without hero credentials, he couldn't technically be arrested because he hadn't used his "quirk".

Never mind that even without his hats he had enhanced strength and durability that would be incredibly out of place in someone quirkless. Technicalities, technicalities.

Kirby admired Meta's thinking that always went three or four steps ahead, but didn't like this rule.

His hats were part of him. As skilled as he was with weapons even without the hats, their absence when he was fighting was like he was missing something— like he was only wearing one sock.

He was always holding back, and he didn't like it.

So really, Kirby was reduced to just watching Meta go about his job. And Kirby didn't really enjoy it, but he couldn't do anything about it.

He wanted to help; he wanted to make a difference; he wanted to make sure people were happy, and that was difficult when his movements were so limited. But it was in the small things that he found his purpose; things like helping civilians get away from dangerous battles, or helping Meta corner the occasional runaway.

And if Meta sometimes drew villains into secluded alleys where Kirby laid in wait, weapon at the ready, well, neither of them said anything, did they?

Kirby also just generally really enjoyed hanging out with the Halberd, the name of Meta's crew. Just like most big Pro Heroes had their own buildings and staff and sidekicks, Meta had the Halberd, a group of people that followed him. They were officially his sidekicks, but truly his friends.

Sailor Dee was the only other person his age in the Halberd, and thus, the one Kirby talked to the most. Despite the two being similar in age, Sailor Dee was already in his second year of hero school, with his own provisional license— something the timid teenager loved to hold over Kirby's head.

Kirby knew the Dee from even before meeting Meta Knight. The Dee family could really only be found in one place, and Kirby knew exactly where that was. Sailor Dee was always a bit of an oddball though. He gave up staying with his family to be adopted by Captain Vul (one of Meta's sidekicks) and obtain a formal hero education.

Kirby also knew that Sailor Dee still kept in contact with his ginormous family, and Kirby took great pleasure in constantly pestering Sailor Dee for news on them.

Then, there were Blade Knight and Sword Knight, the hero-sidekick-duo that had been with Meta since before he had found Kirby. They were nice, and always indulged Kirby's playful whims when Meta was busy. Many times, Sword and Blade had to babysit Kirby, the child pouting because he couldn't follow Meta around.

There were others, but those were the ones Kirby was closest to, and therefore the ones Kirby always hung out with.

Today was a good day. After some time with Meta drilling some math and engineering concepts into Kirby's mind (ugh, he did _not_ like any of these, even though Meta'd simplified the concepts to layman's terms that even Kirby had to understand), Meta decided to check on the office today.

Technically, he was on vacation. He wasn't supposed to go to the office, but Meta was always a workaholic. If he could find something productive to do with his time, it would be done. That was probably why the apartment was always so clean, but Kirby digressed.

In any case, it seemed that an order had been put out for some higher-ranking heroes to join a battle. Villain activity had been falling a bit recently, but today was a big day, since apparently there were more than 5 B-rank or higher villain attacks in the area.

Which, of course, meant Meta would take time off his _vacation_ to go to _work_.

A sentiment that Kirby honestly shared. Why should they be at home resting when they had the ability and power to be out there doing good?

* * *

After a quick visit to the Halberd office to pick up Kirby's sword and armor, they were off.

Kirby's costume ensemble was altogether, quite simplistic. With his hair tied up and a mask on, he looked at least somewhat different from his usual self. His normal half-sleeved high-collared sweatshirt and red pleasures shorts were comfortable; his fortified red boots and mahogany armor finished the look.

Kirby himself never quite liked the armor, as minimalistic as it was; it was still just a bit too heavy in his opinion. Meta insisted though, so Kirby dealt with the extra weight, pushing extra effort through his legs, propelling himself weightlessly into the clouds.

With the summer wind running through his hair comfortingly like a warm welcome home, Kirby nearly forgot that they were on their way to a villain fight.

In his defense, nothing felt better than flying, or in his case, jumping, through the air. It was rejuvenating; Kirby found himself wishing to float near the clouds just a bit longer— but a pillar of smoke burst into his line of sight, and his mind plopped unceremoniously back into the matter at hand.

Meta halted at a nearby rooftop, overlooking the narrow shopping street at an advantageous position.

Kirby lightly floated down to join him, eyebrows furrowed at the fire below.

It was spreading. As powerful as Backdraft's quirk was, it wasn't suited to extinguishing large areas of fire. Kamui Woods dashed around, civilians carried by his branches out of the pyre. None of them could even get close enough to the center of the fire to try and put down the villain.

Kirby glanced to Meta, who took in everything with that analytical gaze of his, eerily silent as his eyes scanned the situation. No doubt he'd already come up with dozens of strategies— and ruled them out again for danger, casualties, or other such risks.

Kirby looked back down.

"Should I clear out the watching civilians for now? More space to move if they're out of the way, right?" He itched to move and do something. Analyzing and planning were Meta's things, not his. He just wanted to help.

Meta absently nodded, not taking a single eye away from the scene.

Kirby grinned. It was approval enough. He hopped off the roof.

—

" _Everyone, please listen!_ " Kirby's shouted pierced the air, as the crowd's shouts and conversations died down to murders.

"Mini-Knight's here", "It's Meta Knight's sidekick!", and other such murmurings passed through the crowd.

"Thanks for the support but to do their jobs, the heroes need more room! Please evacuate the area; the fire may spread!" Kirby shouted at the top of his lungs. He wasn't a quiet person by any means, and a crowd listened most often to whoever shouted the loudest.

Some saw sense and turned, immediately vacating the area.

Others, mostly reporters, saw less need to. Kirby crossed his arms, frustrated. They were more difficult to deal with; he should probably—

_A boy in black shouted and ran out of the crowd, surging forth into the flames._

Kirby stopped. His mind halted for a moment.

The people on the road clambered, and all that Kirby could think of was the boy running into the fire, seeming reckless abandon tempered by the determination in his eyes.

_Oh no._

_He's going to die._

Kirby's legs spurred into movement, a crouch, a leap, every step bounding him forwards after the boy. He had to catch up, had to save him, had to _help_ —

His hand gripped the hilt of his short sword on his belt, the wood fitting naturally in his hand as he drew it out of the scabbard smoothly, with ease.

The eye of the green slime villain was bloodshot, angry red veins crawling across it, twitching violently, as the villain eyed fallen books on the ground.

The gaze swiveled in rage back to the quaking child. " _Brat, you'll—"_

An arm raised, the dripping appendage ready to _strike—_

Kirby raised his sword, jumped, _slashed—_

It splatted on the ground, any form it had melting into a puddle of murky green slime.

Kirby flipped back and touched his hand and then his feet to the ground. His sword arm held out, as he stood from his crouch he flicked the slime off his blade.

His blue eyes beneath the mask were icy, merciless, but fiery, passionate.

He once again surged forth, sword at the ready.

The slime villain cackled. _How predictable_. He let loose an explosion, blasting it right at the charging masked hero, point-blank. There was no way Mini-Knight could've dodged that.

Midoriya and Bakugo could only stare with bated breath as the pink-haired hero disappeared into the smoke.

Kirby breathed in.

_Fire._

In the center of the smoke, a flicker of a flame ignited.

In a brilliant sudden flash, the smoke burst into flames and quickly burnt out.

Mini-Knight, Kirby, tousled pink hair tucked into a flaming hat, a golden diadem with a green gem at the center fixing it in place, stood in the center.

His mask was off.

Midoriya could see the whole blue eyes, their depth, their anger, their determination.

He could see stars within those big midnight blue eyes, could see in the reflection that the villain, too, stared at Mini-Knight in astonishment.

_The mask never came off. And now it had._

_The hat had to be a quirk. But wasn't his quirk super-strength and lightness?_

Mini-Knight moved before Midoriya could even form a whole thought.

Sword in hand, he gripped it, and the hat instantly transformed into a soft, pointed green cap with a golden ball at the end.

With it, a smirk of surety crossed Kirby's face.

A dash forward and a slash—he wasn't even near the villain, what was the point of that?

A beam, a curve of energy, rent through the impregnable green slime, inches from Bakugou's head.

The slime villain was split cleanly in half; Kirby still ran.

Mini-Knight grasped Bakugou's wrist in his hand and _pulled_ , and in the moment of the slime's weakness, the slime finally gave.

He shoved the coughing and barely standing blond into Midoriya's arms, and slipped his mask back on, the cap dissipating into thin air.

The villain was slowly regenerating, slowly combining its two portions of slime, but—

" **I AM HERE!** " All Might bellowed.

Kirby wasn't supposed to directly interfere with or battle villains.

He was meant to be on the sidelines; he didn't have a provisional license yet.

Kirby did the best thing he could think of in the presence of the Symbol of Peace.

He ran.

* * *

Meta Knight had observed from the rooftop. He should've jumped in and interfered, but loathe as he was to admit it, he wasn't well suited to fire either.

Something could've worked out if Power Loader went in with Backdraft's quirk as backup, or if Mount Lady could control her size to be narrow enough for the alley.

Once again he aggravated over Kirby's lack of a provisional license; Kirby would've been best suited to something like this with his immunity to anything he could claim as a power. That included fire and his fire hat.

But then Kirby ran in anyways.

And Meta Knight slapped a gloved palm on his mask. It would've had a better effect if he wasn't masked, but he digressed.

Kirby.

He didn't have a provisional license and was stepping into the fray.

The paperwork for this was going to be terrible. If the Hero Association actually reviewed Kirby's certifications and found that he _didn't actually have any,_ Kirby's career as a hero was done for.

Meta Knight could say that he authorized the intern to act at his own discretion…

But then the media might catch wind and give him backlash for putting an inexperienced hero in danger.

Never mind that Kirby had been an intern for four years already and nobody seemed to have noticed.

Come to think of it, if they found that Kirby still had an intern status, they might get suspicious.

Meta Knight sighed. Why did Kirby always bring him so much trouble?

* * *

In their silent parkour back to the office, Kirby reflected and Meta Knight planned.

Kirby didn't regret it. It might cause both of them a lot of trouble, but if he were a moment later, both boys could've died.

There were many times when people had to defer judgement to the heroes, since they were trained and knew better.

That was not one of those times.

Meta Knight would've alerted him if he would get in the way of another hero; they had earpieces for a reason and Meta Knight kept tabs on their locations for his strategy and not many were nearby.

Kirby was the best suited, and Kirby was _trained_. He knew what he was doing and didn't regret doing it.

Who needed a license or certification or justification to just _save someone_?

Meta Knight had the solution. Kirby didn't have a license, and that was the biggest problem. As the Number 3 Hero though, the Hero Association couldn't do too much.

They could suspend him and his team, but the public backlash would be too great; they could arrest Kirby for vigilantism but again, since he was under Meta Knight, the backlash would be too great. Plus, Meta Knight as a mentor condoned Kirby's actions.

The typical punishment was expulsion from the intern's hero school, but Kirby didn't _go_ to school.

Which meant that until the Association could find a good course of action, it was Meta Knight's move.

He had to get Kirby at least a provisional license somehow. If they couldn't punish Kirby now, they most definitely wouldn't be able to later if Kirby had gotten the reasonable certifications to step in.

And it was in bad taste to punish someone for a crime of the past, especially if the crime had actually saved people and was done in good intention.

Kirby needed a provisional license, preferably an official license soon afterwards.

And that meant calling in a few favors from a few friends.

* * *

"Yes?" Answered a mousy voice. "Ah! Meta, is it?" A pause. "Yes, yes… I see. I'll call you later to work out the details."

"Who was that?" Aizawa gruffed.

"Oh, just an old friend," Nedzu replied in that whimsical way of his.

Aizawa rolled his eyes. The headmaster was always up to something.


	2. Chapter 2

It was night. Kirby and Meta had exchanged few words since the incident, and Kirby worried that he'd angered the knight.

While Meta Knight hadn't said anything about it, meaning there wasn't really criticism for his actions, Kirby hadn't heard anything remotely positive or praising, and that unsettled him.

He hoped he was worrying over nothing. Meta Knight was simply the kind of person to stew silently on things until he was sure… but five hours seemed a bit long, even for the stoic knight.

His belly grumbled as he laid in bed, eyes listlessly drifting around the glow-in-the-dark stars and constellations painted on his ceiling. He was always hungry, but it was worse when he was worried.

Meta Knight was usually asleep at this time, right?

Kirby got up and silently crept towards the kitchen. A tomato ought to cheer him up enough to sleep.

But Meta's low voice seeped into the hallway, reaching Kirby's ears, and Kirby, against his better judgement, was curious. So he eavesdropped.

"... How did Aizawa-san manage to expel a whole class on the first day?... never mind, I think I know. Either way, it _is_ rather convenient."

Convenient for _what_? Kirby silently tip-toed closer to the kitchen, but still outside of Meta's range of view.

"Yes. Yes… That is reasonable; understood." Kirby stifled a snicker at Meta's stink-eye towards the phone. "Then we've reached an agreement? Kirby will test to join UA's class 2-A."

Kirby's eyes widened in surprise.

The line clicked; Meta Knight hung up. "Come out, Kirby, I know you're there."

Oops.

Kirby walked out with his head hung, aware that he'd broken Meta's curfew and rule to not eavesdrop.

Meta sighed. "I thought you went to sleep?"

"I couldn't," Kirby pouted. "I was worried."

"About today?"

Kirby shook his head. "...That you were angry at me."

They were silent for a bit, Kirby chancing a look up from the ground as Meta sat at the kitchen counter, unmasked.

Kirby didn't often get to see the knight unmasked, though he did see it more than anyone else did. It made Kirby feel a slight sense of ease.

He and Meta Knight were similar. They both had the same round face, the same small nose and rosy cheeks, and the same deep but glowing eyes.

When Meta didn't say anything though, Kirby's feet shuffled, nervous. "You didn't say anything to me after I ran in, and you didn't give an order to, and I know I broke a few rules—" he was babbling again, but he couldn't stop. "I took off my mask and used a hat in front of other people, two hats, and I didn't wait for your order and I guess what I'm trying to say is…"

He took a deep breath. "Sorry," he finally said. He felt like a slight weight had been lifted off his chest, but he was still worried. "You're not… sending me to school because you don't want to teach me anymore, are you?"

Deep down, Kirby knew Meta wouldn't, would never abandon him, but he couldn't help but worry.

[He worried because sometimes, in his dreams, there was the blue masked knight that he loved like a father, and they took down the biggest enemies together, but most times… most times they fought each other, or the knight was absent and Kirby didn't have anyone else to help him take down a god.]

But Meta's eyes softened, and Kirby knew that he had nothing to worry about, the warm yellow eyes welcoming him like a hug.

"Kirby, I would never. Don't be sorry for today; you did the right thing," he reassured.

Kirby looked up, a half-smile on his face. "Really?"

Meta nodded. "Really. Do not make it a habit to break rules, but… you are growing. It is only natural to make your own judgements; in fact, you should. Today, your actions saved the lives of two and probably many more had the villain been allowed to continue."

Kirby nodded, a light of joy brightening in his eyes at the words of his mentor.

"I will not lie though, your actions have consequences, Kirby. I'm mitigating most of them, but you'll have to live up to them as well."

Kirby nodded. "Is that why you're sending me to UA?"

"Exactly." Meta Knight held up a finger, a tell-tale sign of another lesson or explanation. "Like I said, I am mitigating most possible consequences of you stepping into a villain battle when you're officially an intern. The Hero Association knows that if they suspend or arrest you for seemingly no reason, especially after saving those two boys, they will face media criticism. The recent atmosphere of vigilantism makes it almost guaranteed that doing so will be seen as an injustice."

Kirby nodded, half-understanding. What stopped the Hero Association from doing anything was always public opinion. He knew that in his four years of working, even on the sidelines as an "intern," he'd racked up a good amount of popularity— nothing big, since he wasn't actually allowed to partake in battles, but dealing with crowds had exposed him to the public.

Meta Knight continued. "Before they can do anything then, we have to cement their inaction. If you have a license, even a provisional one, they won't be able do anything against you. The most they'll be able to do is put it on your record, which would make it hard to join another Hero Agency… but if you don't make your own, you'll be with me anyways."

Kirby grinned. He saw where it was going now. "So I'm going to UA to get my provisional license?"

Meta Knight nodded, a small but proud smile on his face. "Hopefully, you'll be there long enough to get your official license, so you'll be able to essentially act freely. You'd even be able to start your own agency, not just be under me as a sidekick."

Kirby beamed. That sounded great. "Then I'll do it!"

Kirby paused. "If I'm entering second year— hold on, so I'm staying there for a year and a half?" He was less keen on that.

Meta Knight nodded, amused at Kirby's appalled face. "Almost two years, since the school year is just starting. It's hardly _that_ long," he teased, a mirthful smirk on his face.

Kirby puffed his cheeks in a childish pout. "But I don't want to go to school, I want to patrol with you."

Meta Knight stood and walked towards the bedrooms with a graceful yawn, tousling Kirby's hair on the way. "You know you need it. We'll talk more tomorrow. For now, it's far past your bedtime."

* * *

In the end, back in his bed and much more ready to sleep, Kirby was happy. He'd complained, but school was an exciting prospect. What was it like? Would he make friends there? Were the people there strong, were the teachers as good as Meta Knight?

He was just a bit peeved that Meta had decided on this without asking him, but Meta was his mentor for a reason. They didn't have as much history as Kirby had with, say, Dedede, but they certainly understood each other better than anyone else.

Kirby trusted Meta's decisions, and Meta always knew what decisions had Kirby's best interests in mind.

Kirby closed his eyes and slept.

* * *

_It was a brick hallway. Kirby looked at his hands. He_ had _hands, meaning this dream was different; this dream took place after…_

_After…_

_He didn't remember, but Kirby looked around. Everything seemed giant; he was short._

_Red-headed children with cream-colored masks and red-orange uniforms milled the hallway, each carrying their own weapon._

" _C'mon, Kirby!" One with a bright blue bandana, shorter than the others, tugged on Kirby's wrist, and the child stumbled but barely kept up._

_The hallways were furnished lavishly, lined with deep regal red carpeting and rich dark wooden walls. Kirby knew where this was; he'd lived here for years._

_An repurposed apartment complex where a crime ring ran its operations, or as its residents liked to call it, Castle Dedede._

_Kirby knew the place like the back of his hand. He knew the kitchen on the first floor stocked with his tomatoes and the Dees' rice and eggs, knew the reception area where he'd faced King Dedede for the not-first time, knew the room where he play-fought with Dee almost every day._

_He smiled. It might not have been his current home, but Castle Dedede was still his home in a way. He let himself fall into the nostalgic memories— dreams— like sinking into a cloud._

_Dee dragged him to the office on the sixth floor, excited, a pep in his step that Kirby didn't share but was happy to see._

" _Didja hear, Kirb? Didja? There's a new guy joining us! A new guy! I forgot what Big D said his name was— Me… me… something that started with M! But he's really cool!"_

_Child Kirby nodded along, eyes no doubt lit up with the childish joy and excitement of meeting someone new._

_Kirby now knew exactly what day it was though._

_Dee pushed open the handle. The door barely creaked._

_Kirby looked at a black-haired man in a mask, yellow eyes peering out behind it, sharp and cold, but Kirby felt an odd warmth from him._

_The dark red cape he wore seemed off with his dark navy blue clothes and armor, but added greatly to the imposing figure._

_Dee shrank back, slightly intimidated, but Kirby walked forth, an odd resonance ringing within him._

_The knight looked down at the child._

_The child looked up at the knight._

' _Twas a fated meeting that day in Castle Dedede, one that Kirby would never forget._

* * *

When tomorrow came, Meta Knight explained that though he had an agreement with the teachers there to allow Kirby to enroll, it was still a given that he'd have to be qualified— meaning an entrance exam and a practical exam.

Meta and Kirby both had no doubts on the practical exam. While Kirby didn't make the _smartest_ fighter, he _was_ most certainly the _strongest._ Even Meta Knight had to admit that in sparring, Kirby's raw strength had won against his technique many times.

The written exam on the other hand…

Kirby groaned as he reviewed the problem for the second time. He knew this! He knew exactly how to do this; he'd learned it; why did nothing come to mind?!

Meta craned his neck to look over at Kirby's work, somehow making it look effortless— as the knight did with most things.

"You have this, now try and manipulate it until it fits back inside. Think outside the box; you don't always need to do everything to the main function only."

Kirby stared blankly, and Meta knew he lost the child in thought already. He sighed.

"Do push-ups until you figure out your answer. Either you're overthinking or not thinking enough."

Kirby nodded and stuck out a tongue as he erased his work and started on his push-ups.

Meanwhile, Meta shuffled and realigned the forms on the clipboard in his lap. There were so many forms involved with registering Kirby for school… so many…

* * *

Suffice to say, with Meta's constant drilling and Kirby's hard studying over two weeks, when the day of the test rolled by, Kirby was _well_ over-prepared. As Meta Knight always said though, preparation was paramount, and thanks to the preparation, Kirby was pretty confident.

That didn't mean there wasn't some anxiety in him as he read through his problems and answers for the umpteenth time. He might have understood the concepts, but Nova knows how many dumb mistakes he probably made.

Well, even if he didn't get into UA, Meta probably still had a backup plan or two to make sure he couldn't be touched by the Hero Association. Knowing Meta, he might've even gotten Dedede in on it… so really, Kirby didn't have anything to worry about.

But… This was the optimal solution, and Kirby didn't want to ruin it.

He sighed as he handed his test to the proctor. He supposed he'd have to let the chips fall where they may and be confident in his studying. Next up was the practical exam, and that excited Kirby a lot more.

Kirby grinned to himself. He had an idea of what the practical would be, considering the way UA ran things—strength was the name of the game, so he had nothing to worry about there.

The idea of fighting made his stomach tingle in anticipation. He was a peaceful person, but even he couldn't object to sparring with Meta Knight when he felt like it. Fighting, he felt like… he was in his natural element. Like he was doing what he was meant to do.

With some trepidation but much more enthusiasm and excitement, he followed the proctor to the training grounds.

* * *

The gyms they had at UA were truly remarkable. They were _huge_. Absolutely _ginormous_. And UA had so many more of these.

If Kirby didn't get in, it'd be such a shame. Kirby really wanted to come here and experience what it might be like. It _was_ really fascinating, once he got past the idea of sitting in a room and listening to someone other than Meta Knight lecture on concepts that would bore him to sleep.

Kirby took his chance to marvel at the large gym with its tall stone pillar-like structures before dropping his gaze back down to the instructor and a small but large mouse-like creature.

Cementoss was someone Kirby definitely recognized. He'd run into a lot of heroes before, though most hadn't spared him much of a glance when he was just an intern. The mouse, he thought he'd seen on the news before, but wasn't sure.

"It's me, Nedzu! Am I a dog? A mouse? A bear? More importantly, I'm the principal!"

Kirby stifled a giggle at the cheerful introduction.

"Cementoss. It is nice to meet you, Mini-Knight."

Kirby waved, and though they didn't need any introduction, introduced himself anyways. "Hi! I'm Kirby. Hoshino Kirby. But I guess you knew that already."

"Indeed," Nedzu confirmed. "Welcome to UA, Hoshino. I hope you've enjoyed it so far!"

Kirby grinned and nodded. "It's so cool and big! I hope I get in."

Nedzu nodded. "To that end, your practical exam begins soon. Usually we would use robots, but as your circumstances are somewhat unusual, we'll have you fight Cementoss."

Kirby nodded and stretched, making sure none of his joints were tired from sitting in the testing room for too long. "Ready whenever!"

Cementoss nodded, and walked closer to the center of the gym.

Without warning, cement pillars rose out of the ground, under where Kirby stood. But Kirby _was_ ready to go, and jumped before they could so much as touch him.

This would be a bit difficult. Kirby bit his lip; he didn't have a weapon to fight with as he usually had, and he never used his copy ability unless it was an emergency, which left him just a bit limited in choices.

Then again, he wasn't one to think much. He floated through the air to one of the already-existing stone structures, peering down below before leaping down with a flip and a kick.

Cementoss raised an arm. A concrete barrier curved over him, stopping Kirby's heavy kick. It shuddered and cracked under the force. Kirby quickly kicked off the surface and flipped over Cementoss's head, to his unprotected other side.

Cementoss was quick to erect another barrier, leaving him completely ensconced in cement walls. The ground rippled in erratic waves, threatening to disrupt Kirby's footing.

Kirby jumped and floated back up to one of the stone pillars, and Cementoss lowered his walls, preparing an attack. Kirby smirked, hurtling himself straight at the hero, thrusting all his weight into a strong downward kick with his right leg.

Cementoss blocked the heavy-hitting leg with one large and solid forearm, and Kirby smirked. His other foot came forward to Cementoss's raised forearm, and kicked off. He swung back and flipped back and upright, then swung his leg low at Cementoss's shin.

Cementoss stumbled and took a step, an arm raised to erect another barrier. Kirby pressed a hand to the ground and pivoted it on it, upside-down, to get in another kick before backflippimg to avoid the cement wall pushing towards him.

Once again, Cementoss was in another impregnable barrier, this time making more and more walls, enveloping himself in a cement fortress. Kirby wasted no time, dashing between the walls in the tiny spaces left between them.

Kirby twirled between the walls, one foot after another finding his way past the tight labyrinth. It was taking too long.

A space, room to kick. Kirby took the opportunity, raising one leg and swinging his foot through a cement wall, which crumbled on impact. A fist punched through the next, another fist through the next, again and again.

Slowly but surely, Kirby's feet were moving forward, one at a time, leaving a trail of broken cement walls behind him.

Finally, one last punch, and Cementoss was there. Another close-quarters battle.

Kirby hopped over Cementoss's low kick, twirled around the hero's large fist, jabbed his arm into Cementoss's ribs, flipped over and behind to deliver a midair kick to the back.

Jab, kick, punch, jump, flip, kick, jab.

And finally,

Cementoss toppled.

* * *

Kirby realized as an afterthought that he could've floated/jumped over the cement walls and saved himself the effort of punching through them like a bulldozer.

* * *

Sometime while waiting in the waiting room at the front office for the decision to be made, Kirby fell asleep. Meta Knight gladly let the child-like teen slump over his shoulder, shushing Nedzu as the principal walked in.

Quietly, Nedzu clapped with those white paws of his. "Congratulations, Meta-san. Hoshino Kirby will start sometime next week, when he wants.

Meta smiled. "Good. Thank you." There was never a doubt in his mind that Kirby would make it, not when Kirby was the strongest person he knew.

"He's quite the spirited child, isn't he?" Nedzu walked over to them. "It'll definitely surprise his classmates to hear he's the same age as them. Much more to hear that he's been working for the past four years."

Meta didn't say anything. He could hear the implication, the slight edge in Nezu's tone, definitely aimed at him for letting Kirby do such dangerous things when he was 12. Then again, Kirby wasn't normal. Meta Knight had always known this.

"Will his classmates know, then?" Meta asked. He'd honestly rather they didn't.

"It'll be his decision," Nedzu said, with a sigh. "Hoshino-kun shouldn't need to worry about being ostracized by his peers, since technically, he wasn't doing anything illegally. The staff will understand if he decides to keep it a secret though. It would definitely be hard to explain."

Meta Knight nodded. There were a lot of things Kirby would probably want to keep secret— Including but not limited to his multiple skirmishes with villains that weren't vigilantism only because Meta Knight said they weren't, and the fact that he still had close relations to the Dedede Syndicate.

"In any case," Nedzu turned to Meta with a glint in his eyes. "You are aware of the trade-off, yes?"

Meta nodded, resisting the urge to sigh. He hated dealing with teenagers, a sentiment he knew Aizawa-san would likely share.

Kirby seemed to stir slightly, his eyelid twitching, a frown growing on his face. "Rick… the drop…" he mumbled.

Meta Knight's eyebrows furrowed. It was another one of Kirby's dreams. This one matched one that Kirby had most often when he was 10, where he gathered drops of light from distant lands.

Were they occurring in even naps now? There was a concerning jump in their frequency lately. He gently shook Kirby by the shoulder. "Kirby. Kirby, wake up."

Kirby's eyelids twitched again but fluttered open this time, the child looking somewhat groggy. Nedzu watched from a polite distance as Kirby awoke.

"Hm?" Kirby hummed. "Oh, hi Nedzu-san."

"Congratulations! Hoshino Kirby, welcome to UA. You can start anytime next week," the principal repeated.

Kirby brightened immediately, blue eyes twinkling. "Really? I made it!"

Meta smiled and patted the excited child. "Yes you did; good job." He turned to Nedzu. "Doesn't the Sports Festival begin next week?"

Nedzu nodded. "Of course, Kirby can choose if he wants to participate in them or not. It will be helpful to his public exposure, since his strength will give him a good chance of winning, but it is again, his decision."

Kirby nodded, mulling over it in his mind. He'd watched the Sports Festival several times before with Meta, sometimes as a guest with the hero, but he didn't know what to think about participating in it.

He glanced at Meta. He probably… shouldn't bring too much attention to himself at the moment.

Kirby turned to Nezu and shook his head. "I'll just watch," he decided. "Maybe I can introduce myself and meet them before classes begin?"

* * *

Nedzu didn't fail to notice the way Kirby often looked to Meta Knight whenever making a decision, even if the blue-haired knight didn't say anything.

* * *

Come Monday, Kirby joined Meta Knight at the UA Sports Festival— this time as Hoshino Kirby, transfer student, rather than Mini-Knight, hero intern.

Having a duty as a hero to make his presence known to the newspeople— Meta had shuddered at the thought, he hated newpeople— he'd left Kirby with a few thousand yen near the foodstands while he went to change into hero attire.

Well, Kirby wasn't going to let the opportunity go to waste; there was all sorts of good food here, provided by the support and business students. The stadium wasn't open yet, so it was the perfect time to explore.

By the time Kirby'd left the food aisle, his hands were full with 3 boxes of yakisoba, a tray of takoyaki, another box of fried rice, and a crepe for dessert.

Taking care to make sure nothing dropped, Kirby ambled slowly to a nearby bench where he could enjoy the delectable treats. He was salivating just thinking about it…

There was, unfortunately, a bit of uneven tiling on the brick path, and even more unfortunately, the tip of Kirby's toe caught on it.

Kirby lurched forward.

_Oh heck no_.

All of Kirby's training was for this exact moment, to protect his food.

One hand whipped out and caught a box of fried rice, the other hand reaching out to grab the tray of displaced takoyaki, while his foot snapped out to catch and balance the boxes of yakisoba.

He only had one foot left, used to keep him standing, and the crepe was quickly falling, close to touching the ground—

"Woah! That was close!" a hand reached out to catch the crepe, and Kirby could cry and kiss whoever it was a million times. He was looking forward to the crepe.

Kirby still had his hands full though, so keeping his balance, two hands and one foot occupied, he smiled at his crepe's savior, a tall lavender-haired girl. "Thank you!"

With a smooth upward kick of the foot with yakisoba, the boxes flew into the air and landed neatly on Kirby's box of fried rice.

"Woah! How'd you do that?"

Now that Kirby got a look at his crepe's savior, he could see the joy and wonder in her blue eyes, which definitely reached her voice, too, in that last question.

She was pretty. Really pretty. Kirby stared.

"Hello?"

"Oh! Yeah!" He mentally kicked himself. "I just did, I guess."

"Well that's not much of an answer."

Kirby giggled. "I guess not!" He shifted his arms to make sure the yakisoba boxes didn't fall again. "Let's move over to the bench. My arms are starting to hurt."

"Sure!" The girl's smile was like a million-watt light bulb. "Anyways," she began as they walked, "your eyes are really pretty! Are they a part of your quirk?"

She was probably talking about the way they were entirely blue. Kirby didn't have a white cornea or a black pupil; his eyes were just completely blue, and could vary in shades. Usually they were a bright and clear blue like a sunny day, and sometimes they were dark and indigo, with flecks of light like stars twinkling in them.

Kirby shrugged. "They don't really do anything, but they do look cool, don't they?" He didn't answer whether or not they were a part of his quirk, because, well, he didn't really have a quirk in the conventional sense.

"Guess so," she blinked. "Anyways, how many people were you getting food for? You could feed an army with how much you got!"

"Haha, just me!"

"You mean—"

"Yes."

"Just—"

"Yep."

"You?"

Kirby grinned at the dumbstruck look on her face. "I eat a lot!"

She blinked once. Twice. "You know, when they say growing boys should eat a lot, I don't think they quite mean this much."

Kirby laughed at the joke. "Good one!"

"Huh?"

They stared and blinked at each other, something that was becoming a more constant occasion as their interaction continued.

"Growing boy?" Kirby raised an eyebrow. Was that… not a joke?

"Are you not?"

Kirby shook his head. "I'm 16."

"Ah."

They blinked at each other more.

" _Shit!"_ she flushed. "I'm so sorry! I just thought— well you look really tiny and— that's so misleading! Is your quirk slow aging or something? Uhhh oh my god you're my age I can't believe I called you a growing boy— Sorry?"

Kirby burst out laughing, almost guffawing. He had to wipe a tear from his eye. "No worries! Lots of people think so at first. Nice to meet you, uh…"

"Nejire! Hadou Nejire!" She still looked rather flushed as she introduced herself. "Class 2-A. You?"

Kirby's smile grew wide. "You're in 2-A?! That's great!"

"It is?"

"Yeah! I'm joining your class after the Sports Festival!" Kirby beamed. "Hoshino Kirby! Just call me Kirby though!"

Nejire knocked her own head with a tiny fist. "Ahh! I'm sorry! Oh my god, I called a classmate a growing boy!"

Kirby smiled. "How about this? I don't like using honorifics, so lemme call you Nejire and we'll call it even!"

Nejire pretended to ponder the offer for a bit, which sent Kirby into another round of giggles. "Deal!" She held out a hand.

Kirby shook it gladly.

* * *

"Nejire! There you are!" Haya Yuyu shouted, seeing her best friend on a bench in the distance.

Nejire waved. There was a kid nearby, Yuyu noticed. She'd probably have to hold back on the cussing.

As she approached them, she took in the child, an innocent and cute-looking 10-year old (probably) with rosy cheeks and bright pink hair. The all-blue eyes added a sort of mystical feeling to the kid's very very pink ensemble.

"Who's this?" She refrained from adding ' _lost child'_ at the end; if she knew anything from babysitting, it was that kids that age hated to be called 'child'.

Nene grinned and shared a knowing look with the kid that made Yuyu instantly suspicious. (Leave it to Nejire to find instant solidarity with a child though.) She brushed off her suspicion as Nejire turned back to her with a bright million-watt grin.

"How old do you think he is?"

Okay. This couldn't be just a straight estimation question, because Nejire looked _way_ too excited. Yuyu was glad to play along though.

"I don't know. 10?"

Nejire giggled. "I thought so too. He's 16."

Yuyu couldn't hold back her shout. " _Holy shit!_ He's _our_ age?" SHe was expecting the age to be different than expected, but that was… wow.

Finally, the boy— teen? Yuyu didn't know— piped in. His giggles were light and tinkled like bells. "Usually people say 12!"

"Anyways," Nejire turned to him. "Kirby, meet Haya Yuyu! My best friend!" She smiled at Yuyu. "Kirby's a new student! He's joining our class after the Sports Festival!"

Yuyu smiled and exchanged pleasantries with the pink-haired boy. She was sure her smile didn't quite reach her eyes though.

A new student? This late? In their _second_ year? And Yuyu was certain he wasn't from 2-B or any of the General, Support, or Business courses. That was _weird_. Like, completely unheard of. Either it was nepotism, or he was something really special.

But either way, it was another student to compete against on the class rankings, which Yuyu was already pretty low on— not to even mention Nejire, who was near the bottom rung of the ladder.

So as she exchanged pleasantries with this Kirby, she was wary. Competition was nothing new at UA.

* * *

Because Kirby was technically now a student, and had gotten his ID after his exam was over, he was directed by one of the employees nearby to the student seating area, which was completely empty.

Kirby frowned, but figured he couldn't expect people to be up here when every student had to be in the stadium for the opening ceremony.

The top student for each grade each stepped up to the podium and gave a short speech of well-wishes and encouragements for this year's festival; all standard fare. Kirby watched out for when the second year's student speaker was called to the podium.

The platinum-blonde girl, Washihane Haria, as Midnight had called her, gave a short standard speech like the other students, though her tone was clipped and sounded quite bored.

Then, finally, the students were led to a gate out the stadium and to their starting position.

Kirby's eyes twinkled. This was the fun part!

* * *

"Hey, did you notice that one kid sitting in our section earlier? Wearing bright pink?" One of the students mumbled.

"Yeah. Wonder what they were doing there. Only students are allowed there."

Yuyu and Nejire shared a knowing glance, something that wasn't odd between the two friends.

Nearby, the class clown peered at them. "I bet they know something."

"I think I'm gonna hurl…" the one next to him grumbled. "So many… people…"

He nodded and rubbed soothing circles into his friend's back as Midnight instructed them on where to go to begin the first event.

Nejire hugged Yuyu's arm as they walked, head turning back towards the other students. "Seira!" she shouted. "You coming?"

The masked redhead with a sailor's cap looked down from their focused gaze on the audience— probably at that kid in the stands— and nodded. "Yeah, coming," they called out as they rushed after their class.

* * *

The gates opened with a loud ringing and Present Mic's shout of "START!" that Kirby had to cover his ears for, but with that, the students were off.

The first event was traditionally a race, meant to weed out the students with low stamina, Kirby knew. UA always added some twist or other though, and this year was no exception.

A few seconds after all the students had left the gate, there was a shout as drones flew in from above to harass the students. They picked at hair, smacked some in the face, hung onto people's tracksuits, and were generally a hassle.

Kirby grinned. Last year and the year before, they'd always had some super big strong enemy right outside the gate. It seemed that UA was changing things up a bit this year.

The drones were a hassle, but by no means strong. Their strength lied in numbers, and with the frontrunners occupied thinning out the swarm, some of the people in the back had a chance to move forward.

Kirby watched, surprised, as the camera focused on a tall blond student, who ran right past the drones, passing through them.

Present Mic gave the play-by-play. "Oh? Right out the gate we have Togata Mirio taking a clear lead! Quirk, permeation! He can pass through anything!"

Kirby was mildly impressed… until the top half of the student's tracksuit started flapping in the wind behind him, leaving his torso completely exposed.

"That includes his own clothes!" Present Mic tacked on.

Meanwhile, Nejire and Yuyu seemed to be keeping a moderate pace, close to the middle of the group, Kirby had to squint at the screen to see them, but there they were. Nejire was blasting away nearby drones with waves emitted from her hands.

That was fascinating. Kirby observed with wide eyes as another student's fingers extended into tentacles that wrapped around some drones and crushed them. It was a shame that Present Mic was only explaining the frontrunners; he really wanted to hear about some of the other students' quirks.

Kirby chuckled as Yuyu lightly smacked Nejire's head in some sort of admonishment.

Then, Present Mic's booming voice caught Kirby's attention once more. "Ooh! Another strong contender this year, Dii Seira, who requested their quirk be kept under wraps!"

The camera cut to the redhead wearing their trademark sailor's cap and the cream-colored Dee mask even though it was mismatched with the UA tracksuit. They nimbly weaved past other students, jumping past and above their heads when it suited their fancy.

Kirby squinted at the screen.

"Sailor?!"

He probably should've known that Sailor Dee attended UA of all schools, but somehow it'd never crossed his mind to ask.

Huh. That meant he now knew four people in his class.

Yuyu snickered as Seira sneezed a small and dainty _achoo_ into the mask covering their mouth and nose.

Sailor Dee pouted. Someone must be talking about them.

* * *

"First place! Catching up near the end thanks to the wide river, Kawauso Kotto! Second place! Sakurai Riaru, keeping good pace for the whole race!"

Kirby hummed, inquisitive. Were they his classmates? It seemed like it, though Mic wasn't announcing their classes.

"Third place! Dii Seira, quick on their feet!"

Kirby had to admit that a smile tugged at his lips when he saw the redhead run into the stadium. Even under the customary Dee mask, Kirby could tell from the curve of their eyes and their quick movements that they were quite happy with their accomplishment.

After a while, when there was a good amount of students in the stadium, Present Mic announced that they were the students that would progress to the second event.

Surely enough, soon, the conversations of other students reached his ears. Kirby bit his lip, squirming a bit in his seat. He was excited to meet the other students.

The first few students filed neatly into the sections to Kirby's left, pointing and looking at Kirby with the subtlety of elephants, but didn't actually approach him.

Kirby kicked his feet back and forth, craning his neck and sitting ramrod straight to get a look at the other students.

The stream of students into the seating area trickled to a stop, his section and another next to it staying mostly empty.

In hindsight, it made sense that none of the hero students were eliminated in the first round. He sighed. He could jump over to where the other students were, he supposed.

* * *

_Kirby panicked, jumping left and right on his feet as the one in front of him held out a bomb, ready to let loose._

_A pop._

_Warmth poured out of him, filling every corner of his body and then leaving him with a cool, refreshing sensation._

_In his hands, a heart, glowing, bright pink, urging him to throw. So he did._

_The one holding the bomb brightened, smiled, and did a 180 to nuzzle Kirby on the cheek._

_Again. Again. Again. Kirby needed friends, needed allies._

_Again, again. A pit of foreboding settled in Kirby's stomach._

_Again. Something big was coming, and he needed help._

_Help…_

* * *

Kirby started.

It was… a dream?

But dreams were dreams. They weren't supposed to happen when Kirby was awake.

But… it wasn't. Kirby vaguely remembered seeing all of those scenes in his actual dreams before.

Huh.

He'd tell Meta about it later, maybe compare it to what was in his dream journal.

Silently pondering, he missed his chance to talk to other students before the second event began.

* * *

Present Mic's voice rang out in the stadium, and without further ado, the second task was explained and under way.

Kirby leaned over the railing on an arm, ears piqued for the second event's explanation. The second event was always a team activity.

"Second event: relay races! The top 40 students from the race have fifteen minutes to form ten teams of four! Decide who will go first, second, third, and fourth, and get to the starting locations for each point."

As the students gathered into teams, Kirby grinned and waited.

There was no way this was just an ordinary relay race; UA wouldn't bore their guests with that.

"Remember!" Mic's voice boomed, "your goal is to reach the next person in your group before anyone else! That means it's A-OK to use quirks and methods to stop other students!"

With Present Mic's " _Start!"_ the students were off.

Pandemonium. That was one word that could describe the stadium. Battles were mostly localized, but the stadium was being covered as more quirks altered the surroundings.

Kirby could swear he saw one kid sink to his knees in the stadium's dirt ground— somebody must've had a liquefying quirk, then. Another student jumped several feet into the air, and another shot balls of water that were so fast they were like bullets—

And then another student's tracksuit fell off.

There in all his glory, a student stood stark-naked among the battles.

Everything seemed to pause for a hot second—

And then the crowd broke into screams and shouts and overall panic.

"Please excuse Togata Mirio!" Mic shouted, as the blond student hurried to put his tracksuit back on. "His quirk experiences complications like this sometimes!"

Kirby giggled. That guy seemed funny.

* * *

Not much happened after that. There was a short intermission, during which Kirby left to get himself another crepe to snack on. When he came back, four students had joined the seating area, all glancing at him with no small amount of trepidation.

Kirby waved meekly, hoping to establish contact.

They ignored him. Mission failed. Kirby sulked, but brightened when he saw Nejire and Yuyu at the front.

The tournament soon began. After the first match of the tournament saw Sailor Dee progressing to the next round with ease, Kirby whooped and leaned back in his seat, throat slightly parched from cheering for his friend. The rest of the rounds…

Well, Kirby didn't see much worth mentioning. They were cool, they had interesting quirks, and the battles ranged from short to long, casual spars to serious brawls, but in the end, they were just little fights.

Kirby should've been interested. He really should've; they were his classmates. He was supposed to learn more about them, like Meta'd told him to.

"What's up, Kirby?" Nejire later asked. "You don't look super excited."

Kirby chewed on another crepe lazily. "Well, I dunno. I'm a bit bored."

"Not one for sitting around?" Yuyu suggested.

"Or you want to fight too?" Nejire added.

_Ah_. Kirby snapped, the realization hitting him. "That's it! I'm bored because I wanna join in. It sorta looks fun."

Nejire giggled. "Really? Do you like fighting then?"

Kirby grinned. "Well, if you're good at something you usually like it!"

"Ho ho," Yuyu's eyes narrowed and she smirked. "Big words. Hope you can back them up."

As if completely oblivious to the challenge though, Kirby just smiled brightly. "Of course! Can't wait!"

* * *

In the end, Sailor Dee ended up winning second place, and that was about all that interested Kirby.

Kirby wasn't sure he remembered any of his new classmates' names besides Nejire and Yuyu. There was also that… Mario? Mirio? Mirio, who was really funny. Kirby hoped they could be friends later.

When Meta later asked him how his day was, Kirby shrugged. He didn't mention seeing the… dream(?) or vision(?) during the day, but he snuck it into his dream journal later that night, knowing that Meta would no doubt see it.

He still felt a bit uneasy about that… Kirby was sure that it matched something he'd seen before, the intense feeling of fear that crept up as he kept befriending more and more companions. It reminded him of a bone white, heart-shaped mask, a towering and hulking figure.

Kirby left his little star-shaped nightlight on that night.

* * *

_The little cloaked priest shook, eyes wide with insanity, raving on and on about injustices._

_The mage sisters were no more than ragdolls, being strung along left and right and finally sacrificed to the crystal._

_The crystal, purple, alive, beating like a heart. It collapsed into itself, becoming a squirming mass of darkness._

_World Destroyer, V̸͎̉ö̶̧́i̴͖̅d̷̝̓ ̴̛̫T̴̰͑ȇ̸͉r̷̯͋m̴̨̊ȋ̴͕ń̶̫a̶̰̕._

* * *

Kirby tossed and turned that night.

When he awoke though, he was rather refreshed. The last thing he remembered seeing was the large star-shaped planet with its two ethereal rings circling it.

Home. He felt warm and happy.

Kirby was ready to start the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I should catch this up to where it is on ffnet so I can upload Ch 3 at the same time for both sites. It was really funny though, why do people automatically ship any two characters together? I got one asking for a relationship between Nejire and Kirby, and another between Sailor Dee and Kirby. 
> 
> As you can see, it's gen, so I have no intention of writing any romance, lol. Can't someone just objectively appreciate another person's beauty??
> 
> Anyways, someone commented that Sailor Dee was either a boy or girl on ffnet and that also annoys me. I make pretty much all my Dee characters nonbinary.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Next chapter is written and will be posted at some point soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friendships are established!

Kirby stood at the front of the classroom, grinning, staring into the faces of eighteen students.

"Nice to meet you all! I think some of you saw me yesterday. I'm Kirby! Hoshino Kirby."

Midnight— or Kayama-sensei— smiled. "Kirby will be joining us starting from today. There were a few odd circumstances that led to this, but rest assured that Kirby is definitely qualified to be here."

Kayama-sensei gestured with her flogger to an empty seat at the back of the classroom, which Kirby was glad to take. As he walked down the aisle between the desks, he could feel everyone's eyes on him.

Some were nice. Some were glares. Kirby just wanted to be friends with everyone.

Kirby probably shouldn't have, but he fell asleep immediately to the droning voice of Ectoplasm. Cementoss was more interesting to listen to, but Kirby found his mind drifting off when he looked at the puffy clouds.

When lunch finally came around, Kirby was kicking his feet back and forth in place, like an excited child. He wanted to make friends, and lunch was the best opportunity!

Except… Everyone just left.

Everyone had filed out of the classroom, in their own little posses, not even sparing Kirby a look.

Kirby knew that it would be difficult to make friends if he didn't approach anyone, but it hurt more than Kirby wanted to admit. Was he not interesting enough? Was he too childish? He didn't even get everyone's names yet.

As he was about to sulk and walk out the classroom himself, he stopped himself before almost walking into someone.

"Kirby! There you are. Ready for lunch?"

Nejire was in front of him, a kind smile perched on her lips. Beside her, Yuyu stood with her arms crossed.

Kirby couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Sure!"

* * *

A week later, nothing had changed. Kirby's only two friends in the class were Nejire and Yuyu, and though he was getting better at names and people seemed to be amicable, he didn't end up talking much with them.

Surprisingly, this applied to Sailor Dee, too. Sailor Dee was of the quiet sort, and Kirby didn't really have that much to talk with them about other than updates on how the Dee family was doing— which Sailor usually told Kirby at the Halberd Agency anyways.

The Sports Festival led to internships though, and _boy_ Kirby was glad for it.

Going to the Agency with Meta, gearing up in the polished armor, strapping his trusty sword on his back, it was like nothing had changed.

Except it had.

Kirby held the mask in his hand as he realized: Meta Knight was already on thin ice with the Hero Association, and Kirby shouldn't make it worse by gallivanting about as Mini-Knight again.

He looked to Meta Knight for guidance, but Meta was busy sorting last-minute paperwork before they left for patrol. The Halberd was otherwise vacant, the other heroes and sidekicks already out and about on their own patrols.

Kirby bit his lip.

No. He'd forego being Mini-Knight. Now was the time for Kirby to just be _Kirby_.

There was no need to hide behind a mask anymore; Kirby was a hero student now.

He kept the armor on though.

* * *

"Izuku? Dinner is ready," Inko called out.

Izuku watched the television a lot, to keep up on recent hero news. It was nothing new to Inko.

What was new was Izuku's flabbergasted look at the screen.

"What's up? Something new?"

Inko was prepared for Izuku to be a fanboy, super-excited about what was onscreen, but she was not prepared for Izuku's dumbfounded "yeah."

On the screen, the camera followed a child with bright pink hair jumping after Pro Hero Meta Knight.

"Oh? A new hero?"

Izuku didn't look away from the screen. "No, just an intern, I think. His name hasn't been revealed yet."

But Izuku recognized that young face, the bright pink hair, and the tiny blue specks of eyes. _Mini-Knight?_

* * *

Kirby _did not_ want to go back to school.

"C'mon Meta, it's so boring!" he whined.

"And you know it's necessary."

Kirby huffed. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Well, would you rather be arrested by the Hero Association?"

It wasn't that school was that bad. Kirby would've found it nicer if he could make more friends, but he was struggling to get a nice foothold. Even coming in first in Heroics class simulations had often just given him jealous glares or half-hearted congratulations.

If he was looking forward to anything, then it would be seeing Nejire and Yuyu again. Nejire was the best! She was the nicest.

Yuyu was still… lukewarm to Kirby, but Kirby was sure she'd open up eventually.

Kirby opened the door to the classroom with a sigh.

And felt the familiar sensation of everyone's gaze piercing into him.

Everyone. Kirby sweatdropped. It wasn't this bad on his first day. Why was everyone staring at him so intensely?

Kirby gave a meek wave, and the floodgates opened.

" _How did you manage to get an internship with Meta Knight?!"_

"I can't believe you know the Number 3 Hero!"

"You should've told us earlier!

"Hoshino-kun, that's really cool!"

Kayama-sensei cleared her throat behind Kirby. "Alright, that's enough. Back to your seats; homeroom is starting!"

Kirby huffed out a sigh of relief and bounded over to his seat in the back.

That was… surprising. Was that all it took for people to start being interested in him? Being Meta Knight's intern?

… How did they even find out in the first place?

* * *

Today, before Kirby had a chance to say hi to Nejire, he was dragged off by other people in 2-A.

"Kirby, come sit with us!" one excited boy had said.

Kirby held back the urge to frown as he nodded and followed the group to the cafeteria.

He felt… really out of place.

The people here had an already-established status quo, a comfortable banter with each other, that Kirby didn't know how to add to.

Actually…

Even sitting with these people, Kirby felt a world apart from them. None of them were talking to him.

"Anyways," one finally said. "Hoshino-kun! How was your internship?"

Oh. Kirby smiled. "It was great! I helped with the cleanup for that robbery on 6th—"

"No, not that!" another laughed. "How was it working with Meta Knight?"

"... fine, I guess."

"C'mon! Give us the deets! What's he like? Is he as uptight as the media makes him out to be?"

Kirby shrunk into himself. This was uncomfortable. Meta Knight valued his privacy and Kirby didn't want to be the one to violate it, at _school_ no less.

* * *

He somehow managed to sit through one lunch giving nonanswers, and was glad the next day to see Nejire and Yuyu waiting at the door for him.

But then he was swarmed with another group of students, and could only wave as Nejire and Yuyu walked off to have lunch on their own.

Kirby resisted the urge to shout.

* * *

This was getting tiring. Kirby couldn't keep evading people's questions, but it wasn't like they were letting up on the questions either. The most he could do was wait out the lunch period and hope that they ignored him enough to not question him about Meta Knight again.

Kirby had had it. _Enough was enough_. He was going to excuse himself, he was going to go to the bathroom, and he was going to spend the rest of his lunch period there, where people couldn't bother him!

"Excuse me," someone nearby spoke, beating Kirby to it. "Can I talk to Hoshino?"

Kirby looked up to find a kind-looking face. And Kirby had to look _up_ , this guy was ridiculously tall.

He was large and muscular, and had a smile like the sun, matching his bright blond hair. Beside him stood another boy who seemed to hide behind his broad back.

Kirby prayed to Nova that they weren't just there to talk about Meta Knight again.

He stood from his seat, waved a half-hearted goodbye to the group he was sitting with, and followed the two.

When finally the noises of the cafeteria faded into the background, they stopped, and Kirby sighed, relieved to finally be away from the group. "So? What did you want to talk about?"

The boy grinned, though unlike Nejire's million-watt grin, it was like the sunshine. "Nothing, actually! You looked uncomfortable, so I thought you'd want to get away."

Kirby was flabbergasted. And pretty certain it showed in his expression too.

His open mouth widened into a smile. "Really? Thanks!"

"No problem! Do you want to eat your lunch somewhere else?"

Kirby's head bobbed up and down happily. "I want to sit with Nejire and Yuyu!"

"Alright!"

As they walked, Kirby was glad to feel his steps bounce with a joy he hadn't felt for several days.

"Nejire! Yuyu!" He saw them in the distance, and dashed to where they sat, a small booth on the side of the big cafeteria.

"Kirby!" Nejire's eyes widened. "Weren't you going to hang out with Kawauso and the others?"

Oh, that was their name? Kirby forgot already. He shook his head. "I didn't want to. They kept asking questions about Meta."

Nejire and Yuyu looked at each other. The lavender-haired girl looked away, twiddling her thumbs, and the pink-haired girl rubbed the back of her neck, frowning.

Nejire turned back to Kirby. "Sorry… we didn't realize you were uncomfortable!"

"Yeah," Yuyu agreed, "You should've said something, we'd have pulled you out if you were."

Kirby smiled. "It's fine! Now you know!" He really held no ill-will towards them; it wasn't their fault they didn't notice it.

"Anyways, thanks, Togata-kun, Amajiki-kun!" Nejire beamed at the two boys.

"No problem!"

"We'll be going now."

"Wait!" Kirby shouted. "Why don't you guys sit with us?"

The moment paused as Togata contemplated it. Grabbing the hand of Amaiki, though, the two took their seats in the booth.

'Twas the start of a lovely friendship.

* * *

**Interlude: Nejire and Yuyu**

Nejire was one of the prettiest girls in the school. Pretty, cute, airheaded; it was a perfect storm for drama in any high school setting.

Of course, this also meant petty jealousies and bullies, something that Yuyu usually dealt with for Nejire.

Nejire was by no means weak. No, her quirk was very advantageous, very powerful, something befitting a UA hero student.

But fighting little schoolyard squabbles with it? Something wasn't right about that.

So when Kenranzaki Bibimi and her lackeys harassed her, she took it with a straight face. She could deal with harsh words; she could deal with the occasional tripping or drink spill on her uniform.

Never mind that she sometimes got scrapes on her knees, that the uniform was worth more than a week of food money. She was a hero student. It would be downright _shameful_ if she reacted.

So when Kenranzaki approached her that afternoon, she stood. She stood tall, she stood proud, and even as the words twisted into her gut like knives, she took it.

"I don't know _how_ you managed to win second place in the pageant last year! You look ridiculous with that hair. Like an overgrown ugly blue pig!"

She could take it. She was fine. Her eyes _did not sting_ , she _did not_ bite her lip, she _did not_ look down.

Yuyu was still talking to Kayama-sensei, something about giving Kirby a tour of UA at some point, or catching him up with what they were learning. Yuyu wasn't there to do anything.

Nejire stood her ground even as the business and general class students cackled.

Then, one of them shouted.

"Oof!"

"Wah!"

And Nejire would be hard-pressed to say that she didn't want to laugh, because hearing those cackles suddenly transform into shouts as they had the figurative carpet pulled out from under them— yes, that was _priceless_.

And when she looked, she saw a little terror with a mop of pink hair, ducking low and kicking legs. _Ow,_ she thought, those would definitely bruise.

It got the gaggle of girls away from her though, so she was grateful.

"Nejire!" Yuyu shouted, out of breath. "Are you alright? They didn't do anything, did they?"

Nejire shook her head. "No, they only insulted me. It was fine! Kirby, you didn't need to trip them." Because as much as she enjoyed it, Kirby shouldn't hurt people for her sake; they were training to become heroes and they weren't supposed to hurt people.

Kirby pouted, eyebrows still furrowed in anger. "They called you ugly!"

Nejire couldn't believe this pouty kid was the same age as her. "And it's fine. They do that sometimes; no harm done."

"No!" Kirby shouted. "It's not! You can't just take that! They won't stop if you don't do anything about it."

Yuyu nodded, uncharacteristically serious for once. "Nejire, he's right. You need to stand up for yourself. How're you going to protect everyone if you can't protect yourself?"

"That besides the point and you know it," Nejire bit her cheek to stop herself from shouting. "Protecting myself against a villain is one thing, but a petty school squabble is another. Kirby could get punished for doing this!"

Kirby crossed his arms, defiant. "Well I'm fine with that! They were in the wrong in the first place!"

The three of them were locked in a staring match, none willing to back down.

Then finally, Kirby sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for hurting them," he looked up, "but I'm _not_ sorry for helping you. You're the most beautiful person I've ever met, and you can't just take these insults like they're nothing!"

"Yeah!" Yuyu shouted. "Use Surge on them, kick their shins, go tell Kayama-sensei, do anything! But don't just stand there and take it!"

"You two are so strong headed," Nejire sighed. "But you have a good point. I'll tell Kayama-sensei tomorrow."

At that concession, Kirby and Yuyu grinned at each other and high-fived.

Nejire smiled. What did she do to deserve friends like these?

* * *

**Interlude: Mirio**

Aizawa was a gruff tired-looking man that looked like he carried the weight of the world in his eyebags. Mirio was always excited for Heroics class because of practical exercises, but he had to admit that Aizawa-sensei put a bit of a damper on the mood.

"We'll draw lots to pair up," the man gruffly stated.

Mirio was with Kirby.

Awesome!

It was a team exercise, one of the ones they regularly had. One team started outside the building and the other started inside, and the first team to capture both of the people on the other team won the exercise.

There was a lot of strategy to go into it, and Mirio had been formulating them and keeping them in a journal since starting his work with Nighteye. After all, prediction and planning went hand in hand.

He didn't have much information on Kirby though, and that was a bit of a concern. Mirio relied on the information to make his plans, and Kirby threw a wrench in all of them.

So he'd hear out Kirby's ideas first.

"So, have any ideas?"

Kirby shrugged. "I dunno. I was just planning on rushing them."

"Getting in quickly to disrupt any formation they have? That's interesting."

Kirby stared. "... no. Just fighting them. If I knock them out, that works as capturing them, right?"

 _Oh wow,_ Mirio realized. _He's actually just— no thoughts, head empty._

"Well, uh, usually, we have to figure out a plan," Mirio tried to explain.

And then, the buzzer beeped, and the exercise began. _Shit_. He didn't have time to explain even a rudimentary plan to Kirby. They had to move.

The two of them ran into the building, Kirby taking the lead, light on his feet.

"How about this," Mirio said as they ran, "Haria has a wingquirk, so she'll be waiting on the outside of the building to ambush us. Stay away from windows for now until we figure out a way to get her. Kiku—"

Kirby bounced quickly forth, and Mirio had to resist the urge to facepalm. Had Kirby heard a _single word_ of what he said? Haria was going to be outside!

Kirby climbed onto the window ledge, and Mirio could only watch as the boy kicked off and jumped up, disappearing with a blink of the eye.

They were uncoordinated, and things were going to fall apart, Mirio just knew it.

Then, an announcement rang out.

" _Hoshino Kirby has captured Washihane Haria. One point goes to team Hoshino-Togata."_

How?

Had Kirby seriously defeated Haria, one of the strongest kids in their class in just that short moment?

Another moment passed, and Kirby once again entered the building through the window. "Just Kiku is left now, right?"

Mirio nodded, dumbfounded. Was his mouth still open? It probably was.

Kirby took a right turn deeper into the building, and Togata followed.

"Any idea where Kiku is?"

Mirio nodded. "She'll be in a tiled room." Kiku had a quirk that allowed her to condense things and throw them at speeds rivalling shotguns. Tiles would give her a lot of material to work with. "There's one on the third floor that I think she usually goes to.

Kirby nodded and set forth with single-minded determination. To be honest, Mirio was somewhat scared of the efficiency Kirby worked with. He wasted no time in taking down an enemy if he saw the chance, and it was admirable, but Mirio also hoped he wouldn't ever have to fight against the pink-haired boy.

When they finally reached the room, Mirio was going to suggest using his Permeation to get in, since he was a good match-up for Kiku. He could make himself intangible; Kiku's projectiles would just pass straight through him.

But then Kirby busted down the door, and Kiku was waiting for them, with ballistics at the ready.

_Smack! Smack! Smack!_

One hit Kirby in the shoulder, another in the forehead, another to the chest. Mirio winced. Having been on the receiving end of those little condensed rocks on multiple occasions, he could say with certainty that they hurt.

He made everything but his feet and hands permeable and with the capture tape, ran around Kiku as the projectiles futilely flew through him.

The buzzer beeped.

" _Togata Mirio has captured Kiku Sema. Team Hoshino-Togata wins the exercise."_

Mirio would be happy… but it didn't feel like a victory.

He held out a hand to help Kirby up. Kirby meanwhile rubbed a sore red spot on his head with his palm, groaning.

"Kirby," Mirio began. "Why didn't you listen to my plans? My quirk would've been better matched for Kiku, and you wouldn't have to get hurt."

Kirby frowned. "Sorry."

Much much later, when school was out and the sun was setting, when Kirby, Mirio, Tamaki, Nejire, and Yuyu walked down the UA mountain together, Mirio brought it up again.

"You were amazing, Kirby, but you should really listen more to people's strategies.

"Haha," Kirby looked down. "I guess so. Sorry about that, by the way."

Mirio waved his hands, "No! It's fine, we just probably could've done better if you'd waited a bit. Did you have to rush to take them out like that?"

Kirby had a hand on his chin, a contemplative look on his face. "I never really wait," he said finally.

"Wow, Kirby," Nejire piped in. "You're kinda ruthless, you know? You didn't hesitate to kick those girls that were bothering me."

"Is that bad?"

"Not necessarily, but for someone so cute, you're fiercer than one would expect."

Kirby shrugged.

"Fighting is just…" Kirby thinks about it for a moment. "Easier. Fighting comes easily. It's something that's always come to me naturally."

He looked down. "I'm not too violent, am I? I don't want to be…"

Mirio crouched down for a moment, back turned to them, and Kirby was absolutely bewildered. And then he stood and turned.

"You're definitely not _violet_ , Kirby!" In his hands was a little purple flower.

Nejire, Yuyu, and Tamaki stared blankly.

" _Pfftt—"_

Kirby burst out laughing.

"That was terrible," Yuyu deadpanned. "Why are you even laughing, Kirby?"

* * *

**Interlude: Tamaki**

Tamaki might have been grasping at straws, but he was fairly certain Kirby was Mini-Knight.

If the boy was trying to hide it, then he wasn't doing a very good job, considering over the internship period, just about the only thing different about him had been the lack of a mask and maybe a different pink sweatshirt.

He wasn't sure how his classmates vying for the boy's attention hadn't noticed this before. Or had they? Maybe they were ignoring it? No official statement was put out about anything after all, so…

Tamaki wasn't sure what hairbrained scheme led to Kirby joining their class when Kirby was probably an already-qualified hero, but it was probably something serious.

Tamaki could occasionally feel the boy's eyes on him, at random points during conversations, or just in lulls of silence between the friend group's conversations.

Kirby wasn't there to surveil them, was he? If he was, then Kirby was a good actor. He took to the school life exactly like any normal student would.

No, Tamaki was probably overthinking it.

But because of his suspicions, he knew that the others knew that he was having trouble opening up to Kirby.

Which was probably how they found themselves in this situation.

Tamaki sweatdropped. They were going to hang out over the weekend, so they went to Mirio's neighborhood, to one of the old playgrounds. He and Kirby were sitting on a dome as per Kirby's suggestion and waiting for Mirio, Nejire, and Yuyu.

He could hear the crickets signalling the oncoming summer. The leaves rustled in the wind. Birds nearby sang songs to each other.

And between them was a heavy awkward silence.

Tamaki sighed. If Mirio hadn't shown up yet, it meant that they were probably waiting for him and Kirby to talk and become friends.

Well.

"So you're—" "Do you—"

They stared at each other. Tamaki gestured with a hand for Kirby to go first.

"... Right. Um, do you not like me?" Kirby asked meekly.

Tamaki blinked. "What gave you that idea?"

"Well," Kirby twiddled his thumbs, "You never really talk to me and I don't know, it's been like a week or two and I've heard like three sentences from you."

Tamaki huffed; it was a short laugh, a sign of amusement. Kirby was worried about his impression on Tamaki? That was… somewhat surprising.

"It's nothing with you, Kirby," Tamaki said. "I'm just really shy. Don't like new people or crowds."

Kirby's mouth formed an 'o', eyes wide as he took in the information. "Okay then. Well, I'll wait until I'm not new then! I want to be your friend, Tamaki."

Tamaki could see, in that bright smile Kirby gave him, a mirror image, a wide grin from a blond boy. It made him feel… at ease.

Tamaki offered a weak smile. "I think I'd like that, Kirby."

Kirby grinned. "Awesome! So, did you wanna say something?"

Oh, right. Tamaki grimaced. He hoped Kirby wouldn't take this badly.

"So you're Mini-Knight?"

Kirby's eyes widened. One moment flabbergasted, the next, he waved his hands around superfluously, making funny sputtering noises. "Uh, dunno what you're talking about! No idea! Absolutely none! Who's Mini-Knight?"

Tamaki would've laughed— scratch that, he did. Kirby's reaction was hilarious.

"Don't laugh! Ugh, I absolutely gave myself away… Dang it!" He knocked his own head with tiny fists.

"Is it supposed to be a secret?"

Kirby sighed. "I mean, it was. Meta Knight told me it was my decision whether or not to reveal it, but in the end, letting the world know that Meta Knight employed a 12-year old would give him a bad rep."

Tamaki hummed. "I guess it would. He is one of the top heroes after all."

"Right? So I don't think much would happen to me but if it puts Meta in danger than I'd rather not."

Then the realization hit Tamaki. "Wait, 12? You started working when you were _12?_ "

Kirby nodded nonchalantly. "It wasn't a problem."

" _Not a problem?_ Kirby, Mini-Knight was in disaster zones. You were _that_ close to villain fights?"

"Well it really wasn't! I'm strong, you saw me during the training exercises." Kirby huffed. "Don't underestimate me, I beat Dedede when I was 5."

Tamaki glared. "You're bluffing." Dedede was a notorious villain.

Kirby grinned, all teeth, and Tamaki could tell he wasn't lying. "Nope!"

Tamaki sighed. "They really let a monster into the UA Hero Course."

Kirby smacked his shoulder lightly, giggling. "You're the one who can turn his fingers into octopus tentacles."

"Anything else you're hiding?"

Kirby blinked. And smacked his forehead. "Noo! Why did I say so much! These are supposed to be secrets!"

Tamaki couldn't help but snicker. "Don't worry. I have tight lips."

Kirby sighed. "You promise?"

He nodded. He understood the value of secrets.

But after that, he supposed he understood Kirby a bit more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right! Did anyone notice Izuku in this chapter? :D Currently he's on his training regime with All Might.
> 
> Anyways, this chapter was meant to establish the friendships Kirby would have going forward. Not all classes in UA are super-promising like Izuku's year, so a lot more are vying for the attention of top heroes like Meta Knight, which puts Kirby in a bit of a tough spot. He wants friends who want to be friends with him, not the intern for Meta Knight. The class also isn't as close-knit as Izuku's because they don't have monthly villain attacks, and the strongest bonds are forged through adversity.
> 
> I hope it wasn't a bad decision to give Nejire problems with standing up for herself? UA can't be a perfect school, there are definitely petty high school dramas happening, and Nejire, as runner up for the cultural fair beauty contest, defintely would be the target for some of it. I don't think she'd try to stand up for herself honestly though, either because she knows she's stronger and they'll get hurt if she fights them, or because she's dependent on Yuyu driving them away for her.
> 
> I honestly wasn't sure how to write Yuyu because there's basically nothing on her. I imagined from her delinquent-like attire she'd be somewhat abrasive, up for a challenge like Bakugou is sometimes, but still a loyal and encouraging friend, since she's the one that encouraged Nejire to join the beauty contest in her first year. I didn't think she'd open up to Kirby immediately, but seeing Kirby defend Nejire would definitely bring her around.
> 
> God why is it so hard to write puns? It took so long to figure something out for Mirio.
> 
> And like PH:SWK, Tamaki already has Kirby all figured out! I think under his shy exterior he's probably the smartest in the group. He has good reasoning, he's just always withdrawn and quiet and suspicious. This will be a pattern.
> 
> Anyways, if you enjoyed, please leave a kudos or comment! Comments make my day :D
> 
> (I copied this whole note over from FFnet lol I for some reason can never write long AN's on AO3)
> 
> By the way, I made art for this chapter, but it's not that great compared to what I usually do. Lemme know if you want me to post it at some point!

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed, please leave a comment or kudos! They always make my day! :D


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